From the New World

Some American cyclemotors from the years immediately
following the Great War.

by Andrew Pattle

The Smith Motor Wheel was an American version of the British
Wall Auto-Wheel. It was manufactured by the
A O Smith Corporation of Milwaukee who, in 1912,
acquired the American manufacturing rights from Wall. In
1919 the manufacturing rights were sold to Briggs and Stratton
who continued making the Motor Wheel until 1924. The Smith
differed from the Wall in several respects. One ingenious
feature of its design was that the road wheel was fitted directly
to the camshaft. This revolved at one eighth of engine
speed and, therefore, carried a four-lobe cam to operate the
exhaust valve. The dished steel wheel partially enclosed
the engine, making the Smith considerably slimmer than its
British counterpart. The narrow width of the unit allowed
the Davis Sewing Machine Company of Dayton, Ohio to use it in the
front forks of their Dayton Motor Bicycle. An inverted rear
engine mounting was used and the motor wheel was attached to the
cycle by a semi-circular leaf spring which doubled as the front
mudguard.

Another motor wheel was the Merkel, made by the same company
as the more familiar Flying Merkel motor cycle. The unit
consisted of a complete rear wheel, engine and mudguard assembly
replacing the normal cycle rear wheel. The axle was
situated a few inches further back than the wheel it replaced and
the whole unit pivoted at the cycle fork ends. This
movement was controlled by coil springs, providing a modicum of
suspension and also cushioning transmission shocks. The
crankshaft passed right through the wheel hub and the flywheel
magneto was on the side of the wheel remote from the engine.

A more conventional machine was the Cyclemotor, made by the
Cyclemotor Corporation of Rochester, New York. The engine
was bolted into the cycle frame and drove the rear wheel by
belt.

While all these power units demonstrate considerable
ingenuity, the cycles to which they were fitted were distinctly
crude, especially when compared to British cycles of the same
period. In particular the use of block chain for the
pedalling gear and the apparent total absence of brakes. In
fact, these machines were fitted with a coaster or back-pedal
brake but this was the only means of stopping a heavy and quite
powerful machine.